Machu Picchu By: Ashlee Thomas

Location and Climate  Machu Picchu is located in the Southwest Andes mountains.  About 70 miles Northwest of Cusco City in Peru.  Year round the climates minimum is about 50 degrees and, the maximum is about 85 degrees.

Pre Columbian, Inca Empire. Also called “the lost city of the Incas” It was built in about 1462 but was left by the Inca rulers less than 100 years later. Most say it was likely that a majority of the people living there were wiped out by small pox. There are 5 theories about what Machu Picchu was used for.

1) It was the Traditional Birthplace of the Inca People. 2) It was a settlement built to control the economy of the conquered regions. 3) It was built as a prison for a group of people who had committed the most serious of crimes against society. 4) It was the estate of the Inca Emperor, Pachacuti. 5) It was an agricultural testing land, to test many crops in different climates. Because of It’s location and terraces there were many climates but not space to gross mass amounts.

In 1911, Hiram Bingham brought Machu Picchu to the attention of many scholars, Bingham was led there by a local 11 year old boy named Pablito Alvarez.

Machu Picchu is Peru’s most visited attraction. It is often threatened by economical and commercial forces. There have been cable cars, hotels and shops built there which ruin the ancient affect.

Facts  Machu Picchu is one of the new 7 wonders of the world.  It was declared a Peruvian Historical site in  It has 140 structures including temples, sanctuaries, parks and houses.